The Thai Government clarifies exact steps to currently enter Thailand for foreigners

Thailand-

The Public Relations Division of the Thai Government released a chart, seen above, that outlined the steps to currently enter the country as of July 8, 2020.

The Pattaya News took the liberty of clarifying each of these steps, as well as the pre-work that one needs to do before entering the country. Please note, individual embassies and consulates, depending on country, may have slightly (or even drastically) different requirements.  Please do not direct questions directly to The Pattaya News, but rather your local consulate or embassy. If they do not respond it may also be possible to contact the Office of International Cooperation, (OIC) although they generally only review absolute critical high profile cases.

LAND BORDERS AND REGULAR COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS ARE CURRENTLY NOT OPERATING. YOU MUST GET A CERTIFICATE OF ENTRY FROM AN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE TO ENTER THAILAND.  (Editor’s Note: We are well aware many airlines continue to sell tickets. They are a business, and this is normal. That does not, however, mean you would be allowed to enter the country and in most cases these tickets are canceled, in some cases with no refund or a partial refund. We strongly advise not to purchase these tickets unless instructed to as part of an embassy or consulate)

The OIC has also noted that they are aware repatriation and cargo flights are expensive and that seating is extremely limited, in some cases restricted to only business class or higher.  There is little they stated that can be done regarding this unless one is willing to wait for the situation to improve and “regular” commercial flights to open, which may be months away.

First, you MUST qualify as one of the following groups (Thailand is currently not open to “regular” tourists:

Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand extends overall inbound International flight ban but allows more categories of people to arrive

If you do not qualify as one of these groups, you cannot currently enter Thailand. The Kingdom has also recently put “on hold” a plan for travel bubbles due to rising cases of infection around the world.

If you DO qualify, these are the general steps you need to take to get a Certificate of Entry, COE. Keep in mind you will also need the financial means to pay for the steps that apply, including your flight and quarantine.  We stated these are general steps, as, once again these are the guidelines released by the Thai Government but some embassies and consulates appear to have different rules and procedures.

1.  Contact your local Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate with the intention to book a repatriation flight that is available and to start the process. It is important that you understand they are very, very busy during this time and “spamming them” with phone calls or e-mails, showing up in person and demanding to speak to the Ambassador, etc. generally does not produce as solid results as calm, but persistent, requests to their e-mail or phone number or booking an in-person appointment.

2. Foreigners are REQUIRED to book an alternative state quarantine, ASQ. You cannot stay in state quarantine and you cannot stay for free. This is a mostly complete list, which is constantly being updated and changed, of alternative state quarantine hotels. It was correct as of press time.

1. Movenpick Wellness BDMS Resort Hotel (https://www.facebook.com/MovenpickBDMSBangkok/?ref=br_rs)

2. Qiu Hotel Sukhumvit  (https://www.facebook.com/qiuhotel/posts/1349930638530747)

3. The Idle Residence  (https://www.facebook.com/idleresidence/posts/2543982685863547)

4. Grand Richmond Hotel  (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=198226081427010)

5. Royal Benja Hotel  (https://www.facebook.com/royalbenjahotelbangkok/posts/3229897060386840)

6. Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

7. Grande Centerpoint Hotel Sukhumvit 55  (https://www.grandecentrepointsukhumvit55.com/bangkok/alternate-state-quarantine-package)

8. Amara hotel, Surawong  (https://www.facebook.com/amarabangkok/posts/2741217512765183)

9. The Kinn Bangkok Hotel

10. Siam Mandarina, Samutprakarn (https://www.facebook.com/483727898455766/posts/1545131258982086/?d=n)

11. Two Three Hotel (https://www.facebook.com/twothreeahomelyhotel/posts/2648780118686869)

12. Tango Vibrant Living Hotel (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=129858025413498&id=105755234490444)

3.  You must provide a fit to free certificate as well as a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of your flight.

4.  You must have health insurance that covers the treatment of Covid-19, as well as other diseases, for the amount of 100,000 USD.

5.  Submit all the required documents, contact the Thai Embassy, and reserve a seat on a flight.

6.  When you arrive you will be separated from the repatriated Thai’s and brought to a specific ASQ area. This will involve a special check in and arrangement of ASQ transportation.

7. While in quarantine one will have two Covid-19 tests. Assuming they are negative, one will be released on day fourteen.

8.  Although free to travel Thailand at this point one is expected to have a specific application on their phone for tracking, provide their agenda to authorities and be subject to possible further medical testing.